Upholstery fabrics which are used in automotive applications are exposed to substantial amounts of ultraviolet irradiation due to the intrusion of sunlight into the automotive interior through the wind screen, windows and other viewing surfaces which are necessary to permit operation of the vehicle. While fading and other aesthetic degradation arising from such ultraviolet exposure has been dealt with primarily through the development of improved dyeing practices and materials, strength degradation of the fabrics arising from ultraviolet exposure has remained a substantial issue. This issue is becoming increasingly important as consumer expectations regarding the long term performance of such fabrics continues to grow.
Materials useful in the construction of previous fabrics for automotive interior applications have generally been synthetic woven materials as are well know in the art. The use of synthetic orientated thermoplastic elastomers in support members for automotive seats has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,738 to Himelreich, Jr. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,739 to Gretzinger et al. (both incorporated by reference). Although such elastomeric materials were previously available it is believed that such materials lacked sufficient ultraviolet stability to be used in surface fabrics. Hence, it is understood that such materials were designated primarily for use as underlying support materials when used in automotive seating applications. The present invention provides a textile structure which incorporates elastomeric components which are substantially resistant to ultraviolet irradiation and thus do not undergo substantial strength reduction upon prolonged exposure to such irradiation. The fabric thus produced is thereby suitable for use as a surface material in automotive seating applications and thereby represents a useful advancement over the state of the art.